The invention relates to an intercepting apparatus which enables sampling urine for examination purposes, particularly of patients whose urinating can, in principle, not be realized on the basis of recommendation of medical staff, specially of small children as well as of adults who are, due to whatever disability relating either to the mind or to the body, on the initiative of a member of medical staff not able to independently prepare an acceptable sample of own urine, whereby for laboratory or bacteriological examinations there is required separation of the last portion of urine, which is decisive for examination purposes, from the remaining portion of urine of a single miction, not appropriate for examination, and whereby an assembly of a detachable container, suitably a test tube, and an inflow funnel/duct constituently connected to the test tube is used for physically dividing the total quantity of urine of a single miction to two portions and for sampling same.
Particularly in pediatrics there is for sampling urine needed to carry out laboratory and bacteriological examinations, generally known the use of receptacles made of plastic foil, so-called bags, which are by means of a self-adhesive annular section foreseen at the attaching orifice of the receptacle adhered around the patient's urinary orifice, and are thus arranged prepared to intercept urine if it starts to flow and when it is discharged.
Considering the circumstance that such a receptacle contains the whole quantity of urine, such method of gaining urine samples is not appropriate for carrying out specific laboratory and bacteriological examinations.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,951 to Kenda that to an adapter made of plastic foil and providing a self-sealing annular area for attaching the intercepting apparatus to a patient there is in downstream manner attached an apparatus assembly for separating the quantity of urine to three or two portions, the former option having been declared as preferable therein.
It is a disadvantage of the referred-to solution, whose operation is based on the gravitation force, that the positioning of the apparatus is conditioned by a fully defined, essentially sitting, patient position which can only be realized by means of a special chair.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,020 to Franklin there is known a urine specimen collector which is from the outside composed of two upright tubes of different heights and arranged alongside one another so as to be leveled at the bottom, and interconnected by a duct in the area of the upper end of the lower tube, said tubes being used in the upright position in a combination with a toilet. The lower tube provides a tube segment open upwards and foreseen to be engaged around a male or a female, respectively, external urinary organ, the tube segment receiving a test tube from below, and also provides a draining tube arranged within the nominal diameter of said tube segment as well as along the prevailing extent of the inner height of the test tube, said draining tube being attached to an interconnecting opening foreseen between said tubes. The other tube of the two is open at the bottom.
The reference solution is obviously aimed to be used by an adult sensible patient whose locomotion has not been impaired. Said solution as such does not meet the aim defined by the introduction given above.
In view of the prior art analyzed, there existed a problem, namely how to design an apparatus such as defined by the above introduction, which retained a simple arrangement typical for foil receptacles, but nevertheless made possible separation of urine of a single miction to two portions with one of them intercepted in a manner suitable for transportation into the laboratory and obviating the necessity of the patient sitting position at interception of urine. In other words, there existed a problem of how to combine the features of a simple, generally known bag which, in principle, required no special engagement by the nursing personnel, and to separate a sample of urine according to the teachings of US'020.